← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 300 g raw white rice (sona masuri or short-grain), soaked for 5 hours
• 60 g cooked rice
• 60 g freshly grated coconut
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1½ tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp warm water, for the yeast
• 350 ml water, for grinding (about)
• ¾ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vegetable oil

Method

1. Stir the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar into the warm water and leave for 10 min until frothy.
2. Drain the soaked rice and blend with the cooked rice, coconut and enough water to make a very smooth, pourable batter, a little thinner than dosa batter.
3. Stir in the yeast mixture and the rest of the sugar. Cover and leave in a warm place for 8–12 hours, until it has risen, is full of bubbles and smells pleasantly sour.
4. Stir in the salt, plus a splash of water if needed: it should coat the back of a spoon thinly.
5. Heat an appachatti (appam pan) or small wok over medium heat and wipe it with oil. Pour in a small ladle of batter, lift the pan and swirl it once around so a thin layer coats the sides and the rest pools in the middle.
6. Cover and cook for 2–3 min, until the edges are crisp and golden and the centre is spongy and set. Don’t flip it. Ease out with a spatula.
7. Serve right away with vegetable stew, egg roast or coconut milk sweetened with sugar.

Tips

• In a cool kitchen, fermentation can take the full 12 hours; in a hot one, check after 6.
• Kerala cooks traditionally ferment appam with a splash of toddy (palm wine) instead of yeast, which gives a lovely sour note.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Kothiyavunu Padhuskitchen